Laserfiche WebLink
<br />I' <br />o <br /> <br /> <br />I. <br />I. <br />I: <br />I. <br />I, <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />. , <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />. , <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />. . <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />~. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />... <br /> <br />I' <br /> <br />. . <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />I' <br /> <br />~- <br /> <br />I' <br /> <br />'-. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />~, <br /> <br />I <br />j <br /> <br />VI ECONOMIC ANALYSIS <br /> <br />Introdusti on <br /> <br />The local economy is an important part of life within the Canon City area not <br />only.because it is a source of revenue and employment but also because it <br />helps to shape the identity of the entire community. In many ways the vit- <br />ality of the Canon City community is strongly affected by the health of the <br />local economy. Aside from the more obvious contributions of a strong local <br />economy such as jab opportunities, the business areas also provide important <br />focal points for interaction and community life, <br /> <br />For most general planning purposes, it is important to have an understanding <br />of the structure and functioning of the local economy. Shifts in the local <br />economy can be a signal of important changes taking place within the community, <br />some of which can have significant implications for local planning. For <br />example, the patterns in employment and business activity will have a strong <br />influence on possible future population growth and the capability of the com- <br />munity to finance public improvements. Population trends and public fiscal <br />resources in turn become major factors Shaping land use planning. <br /> <br />Throughout this section, variations will be apparent in the data that has <br />been used for analysis. These are the result of different statistical sampling <br />techniques used by the agencies collecting the data. While the numbers from <br />each source may not be identical, what is important for comprehensive planning <br />purposes is the general direction and magnitude of change indicated by the data. <br />Also where recent data was not available for Canon City specifically, data for <br />Fremont .County was used with assumptions made about its applicability to Canon <br />City. Wherever this technique was used, the assumptions made in the step-down <br />. procedure have been clearly stated. <br /> <br />Employment <br /> <br />Where people work and in what kinds of jObs are important indications of the <br />overall health of any local economy. Employment data can be useful in the <br />analysis of the Canon City economy to assess the changing level of product- <br />ivity of business and industry, the standard of living of Canon City residents <br />and the demand of goods, services and housing within the area. The kinds of <br />jabs in which people work is also an indication of the types of skills avail- <br />able in the labor force, the range and extent of which is very often an <br />important consideration in the decision by business leaders to locate or start <br />a business in a particular community. <br /> <br />The period of 1960-1970 shows some interesting changes in the Canon City labor <br />force, summarized in Table 12 on the following page. While the overall pop- <br />ulation of Canon City increased slightlY by 233 people or 2.6 percent, there <br />was a decline in the total labor force of 91. Some of the decline can be <br />attributed to the change in the minimum age used to define the work force <br />(from 14 to 16 years of age), but there is nonetheless the indication that <br />the economy of Canon City was unable to absorb new workers. This is further <br />reflected in the 1970 unemployment rate of 5.6 percent which is higher than <br />the rates of unemployment reported during the same period for both Fremont <br />County (4.4 percent) and the State (4.2 percent). <br /> <br />57 <br />